Brand Takes the Stand as Defense Opens
On Wednesday, Russell Brand gave testimony for the first time at London's Southwark Crown Court, opening the defense case presented by barrister Ian Winter after prosecutors concluded their arguments. The comedian and presenter, whose film credits include St. Trinian's and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is charged with three rapes, three sexual assaults and one count of attempted indecent assault. Six women allege offenses spanning 1999 to 2009, and Brand rejects all claims of criminal behavior.[S1][S3][S5]
Justice Bennathan had reduced the final charge from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault during the previous afternoon, a change reported as the judge replacing one count with the other. Under oath, Brand was questioned about how his life changed after his 2010 marriage to the American pop singer Katy Perry. He agreed that it had, describing the level of fame that followed as staggering.[S1][S6]
No Witnesses and a Devastating Period
Winter asked Brand about the 2023 documentary that first prompted police to investigate him, a Channel 4 Dispatches program followed by allegations published in The Sunday Times. Brand described the experience as devastating. His barrister then asked whether he had managed to persuade even one person with relevant evidence to appear for him. Brand answered that he had not, and when asked whether anyone would touch him with a bargepole, he said no. He added that the allegations had consumed his entire life and that he had devoted himself to the matters.[S1][S7][S8]
Accounts of the Complainants
Jurors were told about multiple accusations. According to one woman, Brand raped her in a hotel room in Bournemouth in 1999 after a comedy show. A second woman claims that in a Soho bar in 2004 he grabbed her breasts, forced her into a toilet and orally raped her there. A third says that at his Hampstead residence in 2009 he anally raped her following consensual vaginal sex. Brand disputes every one of these accounts.[S1]
Brand said he recalled meeting the first complainant at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999 and found her talkative and interesting. He rejected any suggestion that he raped her in a hotel room that night. Cross-examined on whether he had simply not cared about her interest in sex, he said he cared very much and that he understood what no means.[S1]
Regarding the woman who describes the Soho bar incident, Brand said he remembered being introduced to her by a friend and telling her she was very beautiful. He denied grabbing her breasts, calling such behavior disgusting and saying it did not arouse him. He said their conversation lasted under a minute before they went to a cubicle to fool around, and he insisted there was no question about her consent or about whether his penis entered her mouth.[S1]
On the 2009 allegation in North London, Brand said he had been excited and enthusiastic about seeing the woman again after what he called a memorable encounter. He confirmed they had consensual vaginal sex in his bedroom but denied anally raping her, and he said she did not tell him to stop. The trial is expected to run for as long as six weeks.[S1]
